Simple Genetics
by Exposure
Summary: A look at Abby and McGee's reactions to the birth of their baby and being parents. Quite fluffy.
1. A Beginning

Gently lifting her out of the plastic bassinet, he observed his brand new daughter. She was swaddled in a pale pink blanket, one of the only traditional baby accessories that had snuck past Abby's discriminating eye. This little girl in front of him, she was so tiny, not even as long as his forearm. A small yawn escaped from her mouth and he felt his heart melt. Everything she did was so special and beautiful to him. He had known almost immediately, that he would do anything to protect her. He had loved her instantly. But now, standing in the quiet hospital room, he had begun to feel afraid. How on earth was he going to be the father she deserved? He had no experience with babies; he didn't even know how to change a diaper! He hoped these things would come eventually, but it didn't stop him panicking slightly in the mean time. This little bundle in front of him was going to change his life forever, and that he was sure of.

The tiny infant wavered somewhere between awake and asleep, her eyes occasionally opening and closing. She seemed perfect in every way; from her tiny fingers, to her button nose. Even if McGee secretly thought, despite what all the visitors had insisted, that the little girl didn't look like either of her parents yet. What little hair his daughter had was very fair and her eyes were still blue, but he presumed her eyes would turn green soon, because that was just simple genetics. He hoped, as she grew, she would begin to look like her mother.

He had been trying to keep his emotions in check all morning, but now that it was just them in the room, his daughter and his wife, his eyes began to mist. He glanced over at Abby; she was sleeping soundly in the hospital bed. Her hair was still plastered across her forehead, as there had been no time for bathing yet. It was certainly not her finest or most glamorous hour, but to him, she was more beautiful than ever. Thinking back to the traumatic night she had, he knew her rest was well deserved. All night he had watched the waves of pain wrack her body, her face contorted in expressions of her agony. To see the woman he loved in so much pain had hurt his heart, he wished he could have done something to make it better, to make her hurt no longer, but he was left strangely powerless.

Abby had a relatively easy delivery. There had been discussion between the doctors about a blood transfusion, but it was quickly dismissed as unnecessary. McGee knew how dangerous childbirth was for women and he was thankful that Abby's labour had gone so well. Her birth plan had been to have a predominantly natural labour; she had insisted that she didn't want to be in a drug induced haze during the birth, she said that she wanted to feel the entire experience as nature intended. However, towards the end of the birth she had pleaded for more drugs and screamed an apology for "forsaking medical science". All the while he had been there, letting her crush his hand and giving her countless words of encouragement. That was all he could do.

The team had already visited them this morning, bringing gifts and well wishes. They had cooed over the baby and congratulated him and Abby. No family had made it to the hospital yet, but they were on their way. Though, in their own way, the team from NCIS were their family too.

--

"_McDaddy!" Tony called, striding into the room and giving him a slap on the back. _

_Tony thrust some black and pink balloons and a gift bag in McGee's direction and went over to give Abby the bunch of black roses he was carrying. He bent down to give her a kiss on the cheek and request a hold of the baby._

_Meanwhile Ziva approached McGee and put a cigar in his shirt pocket,_

"_I believe this is traditional, yes?" Ziva said with a smile, patting his arm affectionately, "Congratulations McGee."_

"_Umm…yes, I suppose so; I'll save it for later." McGee replied, looking puzzled. He had expected the gifts to be reversed, but that was Ziva and Tony, he guessed._

_Tony had already picked up the baby and begun to gently rock her. McGee was surprised at his colleague's ability with the baby, in fact, Abby and Ziva looked shocked too. Who would have guessed DiNozzo had it in him? Now Tony was baby talking softly to the newborn,_

"_You got Mommy's end of the gene pool, didn't ya cutie pie? You did, yes ya did." He cooed, smiling down at the little girl._

_Ziva confusedly looked at Abby and McGee, who both simply gave tired shrugs._

"_Hey Zee-vah, wanna hold Baby-Probie?" Tony said in a hushed whisper, he was obviously nervous of upsetting the little girl and incurring Abby's wrath._

"_Tony!" Abby exclaimed, "Don't call her that!"_

"_Well what do I call her?" Tony countered, slowly handing the baby to Ziva, who was babbling some excuse about her hands perhaps not being clean enough to handle a baby, "Haven't you guys decided on a name yet?"_

_Abby and McGee looked at one another meaningfully. There had been a few discussions of names, with two clear favourites emerging. However when they had tried to direct the names at Abby's rounded stomach, neither had really worked. Since then, they had decided to wait until the birth to see if their daughter suited any prospective names._

"_Not yet…"McGee replied._

"_How about Toni?" DiNozzo suggested, flashing Abby a hopeful grin._

_Abby simply responded with a glare. Knowing that he was beaten, Tony returned to pulling faces at the baby in Ziva's arms. McGee fished in the gift bag Tony had handed him and pulled out a black onesie emblazoned with the slogan 'My Mommy Rocks!' in an AC/DC-like font. He suspected that this would not be the last gift of its kind. Abby giggled and thanked Tony and Ziva. McGee reached into the bag again and pulled out another onesie, this time it was plain white with the slogan 'I'm still in Beta' printed on it. He too thanked Tony and Ziva with a smile._

"_I don't get it McGeek, but the guy at the store said you would." Tony volunteered._

"_Tony," Ziva said, passing the baby back to Abby and checking her watch "I think it is time for us to go."_

"_Ouch, you're right Ziva," Tony began, placing a hand on Ziva's back and ushering her towards the door, whilst turning his head to address McGee and Abby "you guys know how it is, places to be, people to interrogate…"_

_Ziva managed to congratulate them one last time before vanishing through the doorway and Tony promised they would be back later. The two parents looked at each other in amusement when they heard their colleagues bickering as they disappeared down the hallway._

_--_

_Abby was lying in the bed, with their daughter resting against her chest. They had read that hearing the mother's heartbeat calmed a newborn. McGee was sat in the chair next to the bed, thumbing through a copy of 'The New Father'._

"_Abby, have you thought about names yet?" he asked._

"_A little," she began, with a frown, "I don't think I can do it Timmy…"_

_He turned to look at her, his brow knitted with worry. _

"_Me too, Abs," he replied, "I wanted to do it, I really did, but it's too hard."_

"_I know," she said, "and she just doesn't look like a Kate or a Jenny, she's her own person."_

"_I know what you mean." He said._

_Underneath their brave exteriors they both knew it would have been too difficult to call their child by the name of one of their departed friends. They suspected they would feel the familiar pang of sadness every time they called their child to the dinner table._

--

_McGee was perched on the edge of the bed with one arm around Abby's shoulders, and cradled in her arms was their new baby daughter. The two adults were smiling and talking softly to one another. Abby extended her pinkie finger towards the baby's hand and the infant coiled her tiny fingers around Abby's proffered pinkie. Both parents excitedly looked at one another, marvelling at their offspring's first achievement. All in all, a perfect family tableau._

_Abby looked up at the doorway and when she saw the figure standing there, she broke into a shy smile. In due course, McGee noticed the presence too. The pair said nothing to the man at first, they knew this must be a bittersweet scene for him to behold. He had once been a man in McGee's position, until the ground fell away from under his feet. Eventually McGee kissed Abby gently on the cheek, stood up and walked over to the doorway to greet the man._

"_Hey Boss." McGee said, giving the older man an unsure smile._

"_Congratulations, McGee." Gibbs replied, handing him a cup of coffee._

_McGee smiled and thanked him, and Gibbs made his way over to Abby's bed. He stood over her, silently looking down at the bundle in her arms. _

"_She's beautiful Abs," he remarked, after a long pause, "just like her Mom."_

_McGee stayed at the door with his coffee to give them a little privacy. He knew they were close; this was practically Gibbs' granddaughter. He watched as Gibbs proposed a trade; the baby for the miniature Caf-Pow in his hand._

"_Ducky says you can have one small cup every day." He said, his voice emphasising the diminutive amount she was allowed._

"_Y-you brought me Caf-Pow." Abby mumbled, as her face crumpled and gave way to tears._

"_C'mon Abs, it's ok." Gibbs whispered, sitting down on the edge of the bed, so that he could reach and give her a hug._

"_It's not y-you, it's just…" she paused so she could grab a tissue from the box on the nightstand, "everything makes me cry right now."_

"_Everything's going to be fine. You've got your new daughter," he soothed, "and McGee, and he's going to look after both of you."_

_Gibbs shot a death stare at McGee. His boss was once again threatening him with some sort of pain if he ever hurt Abby. McGee was so used to the speech by now that Gibbs no longer needed to say a word, the stare was enough._

_Gibbs stayed a little while longer. He told Abby that the crib he had been making was finished. He had been working on it for months, just for their baby. Gibbs had even convinced Abby that a dark stain on the wood might be better than painting it black, much to McGee's pleasure. Eventually Gibbs decided it was time to leave, he kissed Abby as he said goodbye to both her and the baby and promised to visit them again soon. McGee handed his boss a set of keys as he passed, so that he could deliver the crib while they were at the hospital. Gibbs pulled to a sudden halt in front of him, and brought his face within inches of the younger man's ear._

"_This is the most precious opportunity you're ever gonna get McGee. Don't screw it up." He said quietly, placing a hand on McGee's shoulder._

"_I won't, Boss. I love them too much." McGee replied._

_Gibbs looked pacified, patted his shoulder and departed. McGee was left feeling elated that he had managed to answer his boss without stumbling over his words and sounding like an unsure kid._

--

Abby opened her eyes, slowly coming round from her brief sleep. The baby had started fussing, which had disturbed her. She wasn't crying properly yet, but Abby was a nervous new mother who was determined to get everything right, so she dutifully roused herself from bed. She looked over at Tim, he was sleeping upright in the chair next to her bed. He looked so tired, so feeling sorry for him, she chose not to wake him. He'd been awake even longer than she had, and he didn't have any of the awesome pain meds that she did.

During the labour Tim was so brave and had only vomited once. With hindsight, cutting the cord was probably a little out of his comfort zone, and coupled with his nervousness, she wasn't really surprised he had thrown up. Honestly, she had expected him to pass out, but he had surprised her and managed to remain conscious throughout the entire ordeal. She had hurled more than a few insults in his direction and possibly crushed a few of the bones in his hand, but she was so glad he had been there for her.

She slowly heaved herself out of bed and shuffled over to the bassinet, despite the doctors and nurses orders to remain in bed.

"Hi Baby, how are ya?" she said, reaching down to stroke her daughter's cheek.

The little girl smacked her lips and settled slightly at the presence of her mother. Looking at the clock she realised it would be time to feed her soon. Abby decided to wait a little longer, at least until Tim woke up, so that he could pass the baby to her and help her organise all her pillows. She still felt a little weak and was unsure that she could manage all these things on her own. It almost disgusted her to think these things, normally Abby was so independent. As much as she loved the people around her, she liked being able to depend on herself first and foremost. Tim had proved himself a good husband so far; he gave her enough freedom so that she didn't feel trapped, yet he supported her when she needed him most. That was one of the reasons she had relented and finally married him.

Her daughter broke her concentration with a soft cry.

"Oh no, c'mon, don't cry Baby," Abby pleaded. "You owe Mommy some peace and quiet, especially after what you've done to her figure." She said, looking down sadly at her once trim stomach.

Abby felt two hands slink onto her shoulders and start gently massaging them. She closed her eyes, let her head loll back and released a small sigh.

"I think you look more beautiful than ever, Abs." Tim whispered into her ear.

"Even though I'm still as big as a sea cow and I look like I haven't slept in a month?" She replied.

"I didn't even notice." He replied, kissing the back of her neck lightly.

"You're a terrible liar, Timmy," she said dryly.

He simply shook his head, knowing that no matter what he said, she would never believe him. His daughter was still being fussy, so he helped Abby get back into bed and prop herself up with pillows. Then he picked the baby up from the bassinet and delivered her to Abby.

"But at least now I have a great rack…" she ventured, pointing at her swollen chest with a wicked smile.

Her husband simply stared back at her, his mouth agape, before they slowly descended into laughter.


	2. Waking Up

**Note: The part in italics is not so much a flashback, as it is a scene out of order.**

**Thanks for all your reviews, they have been very encouraging :) Real life has been kicking my butt, so many commitments and job interviews. I just have no time to write at the moment and it's only going to get worse. But, I'll still be writing, just very slowly! I have started two new fics and I still have plenty of ideas for this one. Oh and I'm very slowly finishing the last chapter of **_**Time**_**.**

--

The elevator announced their arrival with a subtle ping. The doors opened to reveal Abby and McGee and their daughter. Abby was beaming and holding onto the handle of the car seat that contained the baby, whereas McGee looked harassed and was weighed down by four different bags. The rest of the team were expecting them, so when Tony saw the couple stepping out of the elevator he dashed over to help McGee with the bags. The couple suspected he was aiming for the position of godfather and was doing his best to act responsibly and impress them. Privately the couple had already discussed the issue and had agreed that Tony would make a wonderful godfather for their daughter. However, they had also agreed to tell him closer to the event, because they knew how grating the inevitable _Godfather_ impersonations would be.

McGee was a little annoyed that they had been called in today. Well, really it was Abby that they had wanted, but she had managed to convince him that it would be a good time for him to catch up on some paperwork and for their daughter's first trip to the NCIS office. Abby had some evidence that needed to be finished and signed off for a case that was going to trial soon. She hadn't finished it before the baby was born and now the case was on a rush. McGee had expected the temp to finish it, but apparently it was more 'consistent and appropriate' for Abby to do it; not that he was sure what that meant.

Abby had been pleased to be asked to come in. It gave her a reason to leave the house, which could only be a good thing. She had missed her lab dearly and couldn't wait to return to work fulltime. She prickled at the thought of someone else touching her mechanical babies and moving her mementos and photographs. As much as she enjoyed being at home with her daughter, she missed adult conversation and the job she loved.

With most of the bags dumped on McGee's desk, hugs given out to everyone present and Tim settled in front of his laptop, Abby kissed her husband's cheek and turned to leave with the baby carrier.

"Where are you going?" McGee asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"To my lab…" she replied incredulously.

"Abby, you are not taking her with you." He said firmly.

"What?! Why not?" She exclaimed.

"It's a laboratory Abs, there are chemicals and dangerous…things. She shouldn't be there." He argued.

"Tim, she can barely hold up her own head. I don't think she's going to fix herself an acid-colada anytime soon." She countered, whilst rolling her eyes.

At this point another voice weighed in;

"Hey Abs, maybe you could just leave her up here, so that she can hang out with her Uncle Tony." DiNozzo said, with a hopeful smile.

Abby looked between the two men with her eyes narrowed; she disliked them ganging up on her, but she also knew this was a fight she wouldn't win. She knew Gibbs would side with Tim as well, so this time she reluctantly decided to concede. She muttered something under her breath as she lowered the baby carrier on her husband's lap, kissed her daughter farewell and headed towards the elevator.

McGee placed the baby carrier on the desk so his daughter could face him and he could keep an eye on her. Not that a month-old baby got up to much mischief, but it reassured him. He watched as the little girl moved, she was quite awake now and flailing somewhat wildly. He hoped she wasn't becoming restless, because when she did, nothing but Abby would do. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Tony trying to catch his attention. He was smiling goofily at the baby, or possibly him, he couldn't quite tell. Tony kept trying to catch his eye; McGee knew what he was aiming for and apparently Gibbs did too.

"Why don't you just ask, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said, his eyes remaining on the paperwork in front of him.

"Can I, Probie?" Tony asked, already half out of his chair.

"I suppose so," McGee said with a sigh, "just _be careful_."

Tony practically leapt from his chair and eagerly made his way over to the younger agent's desk. Tony reached into the baby carrier, picked up the little girl and held her to his shoulder. McGee could tell that Tony doted on the little girl already, as he watched his friend stroke the soft downy hair on the back of his daughter's head. Tony didn't have much in the way of family, so it made sense for him to be so close with the members of the team. McGee remembered that after Tony had gotten over the initial shock, he had been so excited to hear that the couple were expecting a baby.

"See, this isn't so hard Probie," Tony said, turning to face McGee with a smug look, "I dunno what you're always complaining about."

McGee frowned and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could get a word out, Tony had turned around and revealed a trail of spit up dribbling down his shoulder. He grinned and started typing. But, he couldn't help muttering under his breath, "That's my girl."

--

"Hi, I'm Cathy," said the woman behind the desk, waving her gloved hand, "you must be Abby."

Returning the wave, Abby looked at the woman standing behind her desk. The woman was short, had curly, shoulder length, mid-brown hair and a kindly, plump face. Abby guessed Cathy was her senior by perhaps ten years. For some reason, Abby had convinced herself that her replacement would be younger, smarter and more attractive. She cursed her hormones once again.

"Yep, that's me. I'm just here to play with some evidence, and then I'll get outta your way." Abby said flatly as she searched for her lab coat, which to her surprise, was still hanging on the same peg she left it on nearly a month ago. Maybe Cathy wasn't so bad after all.

--

The last test strip slowly turned purple, as she had expected. Cathy had tried to strike up a conversation with her several times, but Abby had remained aloof. Now all she had left to do was a quick write-up and seal the evidence. The whole process had taken her just under two hours, but she couldn't help but wish that it had taken longer. Abby sighed, on one hand she was itching to get back behind her desk and help catch some bad guys, yet on the other, she missed her baby. An unfamiliar, anxious, gnawing feeling had descended upon her the moment she had left her daughter's side. She had told herself to suck it up and get on with things, but the damage had been done, the doubt had set in. Now she worried that she wouldn't be able to go back to work at all. At the moment, there was only one floor between her and her little girl, who was currently safe with her father, but not even that could soothe Abby's worries. What if she couldn't manage coming back to work and leaving her daughter behind?

Abby began to cross the lab, in order to start packing up the evidence in its respective box. As she traversed the floor, she looked over at the desk. Abby was curious to see if the temp had moved any of her belongings around. On inspection Abby noticed that everything was in its rightful place, nothing appeared to be missing or even moved from its usual spot. There was one difference though. Right next to the computer desk was a picture frame. Detecting the foreign item, Abby looked at it in a little more detail. It was a simple wooden frame, containing a picture of two young boys.

"Are those your kids?" Abby asked quietly, feeling slightly ashamed of her previous rudeness towards the woman.

"Hmm? Oh, the photo," the woman replied, "yeah, those are my boys."

Abby moved closer to the desk to inspect the picture further. She guessed at least one of the boys was in his mid-teens, the other was a little younger. The boys seemed happy in the photograph, the younger boy was leaning against the older one in a mutual display of affection.

"They're really cute," Abby said with a smile, "how old are they?"

"Well, Kevin's 12," she said, pointing at the younger boy, "and Danny just turned 15."

Reaching out and picking up the frame, Abby wondered if she would be like Cathy some day, with photographs of treasured offspring replacing her current ones of macabre injuries. Perhaps such developments weren't so far off, she had already been coerced into putting the crib where she would have preferred to keep her coffin…

"I heard you've just had a baby." Cathy began slowly, trying to build upon the tiny piece of common ground the two women had.

"Yep, she's nearly a month old now." Abby replied with a small smile, as she felt herself slowly warm to Cathy.

"Really?! A month? You look so good. At a month I was still laying on the couch and eating candy bars!" The older woman replied, allowing herself to gush slightly.

Abby smiled and waved her hand dismissively. She suspected she would still be on that couch if it wasn't for Tim…

--

_Gently pressing the door closed, he gingerly walked through the house. The very last thing he wanted was wake the baby or Abby, because he suspected the latter would be angry at his lateness. Gibbs seemed to have forgotten that he was supposed to be taking the time off to spend with his family. But McGee knew the team needed him, so for the last few days he had agreed to go in to do a little work, and then today he had ended up staying a lot longer than he meant to. Now he was trying to creep back into his own house in the early hours of the morning, desperately hoping he would be able to slide into bed next to Abby without having to explain himself._

_Finding himself thirsty, he decided to grab a glass of water to take up to bed with him. As he approached the kitchen, he noticed the light spilling from the crack underneath the door. Abby wasn't usually awake this late, not since the baby had been born; now she tried to grab every spare minute of sleep she could get. Instinctively his hand hovered over the weapon at his side, as he turned the doorknob. He pushed the door open and was relieved to be greeted with the sight of Abby with her back turned to him. He presumed she was nursing the baby, because she was looking down and concentrating on something in her lap and her shirt, or rather _his_ shirt, was sliding off her shoulders and revealing inches of her pale back. He never quite knew where to look when she was feeding the baby and he wondered if all fathers felt this way. It was a tough concept for him to understand, because for the last twenty-five years he had been imagining breasts had a very different function indeed._

_She gave him a half-hearted greeting. Now he feared he was in trouble, perhaps she was going to complain about his tardiness. Preparing himself for a hushed reprimand, he was surprised when she remained silent. Making his way over to the sink, he picked up a clean tumbler from the sideboard;_

"_How was your day?" He whispered, as he stood at the sink to fill the tumbler. _

"_Fine." She replied, staring blankly at the wall._

_A few minutes went by; neither of them said anything. It was an uncomfortable silence for McGee, he could tell Abby wasn't pissed off. If she was pissed off, she would have let him know about it, like she usually did. This time though, she just seemed… empty. Her spark appeared to be missing. Needless to say, he was worried and had no idea what to say to her. Much to his disappointment, he never quite understood Abby. There was always a gulf between them, something he didn't get. But he had come to expect that now, so he just did the best that he could. _

"_Do you want me to take her?" he said, noticing she was struggling to button up her shirt whilst holding the baby._

_Abby merely shrugged in reply. Not understanding her answer, he moved towards her and took the baby from her arms. He swung round, picked up one of the many napkins they had lying around the house and laid it between his daughter's head and his shoulder. His daughter had an uncanny ability for spitting up all over his work clothes. He looked back at Abby; she didn't look like herself and she was wearing the same clothes as she had been this morning. In fact, she wore them yesterday too._

"_When was the last time you left the house, Abs?" he asked, gently rubbing his daughter's back._

_Once again, Abby shrugged and made a non-committal noise. McGee frowned; suddenly he felt all the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. She turned to walk away, but he caught her shoulder with his free hand, causing her to turn back around. Briefly, they made eye contact, and the look he received confirmed his suspicions. She wasn't leaving the house, she no longer cared about her appearance and she was becoming distant from him and their daughter. So many of the baby books had warned him about this. It was textbook, it was obvious, and he had still missed it. He had been so caught up in work and being a dad that he had forgotten about Abby. He was so disappointed in himself; he had let her down badly._

"_I'm gonna call Gibbs; I'll tell him I'm not coming in tomorrow." He said firmly, silently resolving himself to fixing this situation._

"_Doesn't he need you?" she mumbled, casting her eyes down to the floor._

"_You two need me more." He replied._

_She began to say something, but didn't get past the first syllable. Instead she moved closer to him and clung to his side. Encircling her waist with his free arm, he whispered words of comfort in her ear. Eventually she broke away from the embrace and looked him in the eye, silently thanking him for noticing that she was drowning. _

--

"My partner, he rocks." Abby ventured, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Oh yes, Agent McGee comes down here a lot," said the woman, animatedly waving her hands as she spoke, "I'm afraid I know plenty about you already."

Abby looked puzzled. She supposed that Cathy could already tell a multitude of things about her from the trinkets that decorated the lab. But it was still strange to think that people talked about her whilst she wasn't there.

"You're so lucky, Agent McGee is such a sweetheart. He always shows me all the latest baby pictures." Cathy continued, her curls bouncing as she spoke.

"Then you must be pretty bored by now." Abby said, with a smirk.

"Oh don't be silly, I love babies. He's just excited is all. New Dad Syndrome," the older woman replied, briefly pausing as she sensed Abby's discomfort, "but you know, every time he comes down here, he's disappointed it's me sitting in that chair and not you."

Abby smiled and looked slightly embarrassed. She hadn't thought that Tim would miss her at work. She had assumed that he saw enough of her at home and that work was a welcome break from diaper changing and early morning bottle feeding. Though it would explain the broad smile he always gave her when he got home from work. Sometimes it took someone else to point out the obvious.

--

The elevator sounded and Abby walked out. She immediately rushed to check up on her daughter, who seemed to have survived her absence, this time.

"Hey guys! Gibbs, I'm all done." She chirped.

"Good work, Abs," he replied, "you can go as soon as McGee's done."

"Uhh Boss, I'm pretty much done here." McGee said.

Abby made her way over to McGee's desk, bending over to hug him from behind as he continued typing. As her husband sent the last couple of documents to print and logged off his computer, she glanced over at Tony.

"Does Tony know he has spit up on his shoulder?" she whispered in McGee's ear.

McGee shook his head and smiled at his little triumph, and Abby giggled in reply. He tapped her on the arm to signal that he was ready to pack up his stuff and leave. They both rose to standing and began organising their various bags. Abby helped pile the bags onto her husband's shoulders and picked up the baby carrier. The couple said their goodbyes, encouraged the two men to come and visit soon, and walked back towards the elevator. Abby pushed the button to call the elevator and they waited patiently by the unopened doors.

Before long, two of the women McGee recognised from the secretarial pool showed up and began cooing over the baby. Abby rolled her eyes, she hated it when people, especially women, got all gooey over babies they barely even knew. It was so stereotypical. The women seemed to love McGee, just like the rest of the women who worked in the building. Not that Abby was worried, it was that platonic, little brother kind of affection that most women felt for him. Apparently these women were called Carolyn and Lois and they thought that the baby was "so adorable". Carolyn looked like another career-girl Barbie and Lois clearly had a fetish for leopard print and pastel makeup. So far, neither of them had said a single word to Abby, which was hardly surprising, seeing as most of the people who worked at the secretarial pool were scared of her. If it wasn't her appearance that put them off, it was the story of her bathroom altercation with some girls she had caught making fun of Ziva.

"She's too precious! What's her name?" Lois purred, stroking the baby's cheek.

Concerned that Lois was going to poke out one of her daughter's eyes with her long pink talons, Abby shifted the baby carrier to her other hand, away from the neon claws.

"This is Alice. Alice Eve McGee." Tim answered, smiling down fondly at his daughter.

The women both squealed in delight and made McGee promise to take her over to the secretarial pool next time he brought her to work, and with that the two women departed.

As they walked away the couple overheard Lois say to Carolyn; "I told you he wasn't gay."

McGee's mouth dropped open and he turned to look at Abby, his eyes full of indignation, but it was all Abby could do to stifle her laughter. Seeing his wife's amusement, he simply groaned and muttered Tony's name under his breath.

When the elevator finally arrived, the doors opened to reveal Ziva holding a stack of files.

"Hey Ziva!" Abby said excitedly, hugging the other woman with her free arm.

Ziva greeted the small family and promptly excused herself, as she had another video conference in fifteen minutes. The couple said goodbye to Ziva and bundled into the elevator. They watched Ziva cross the bullpen and stop dead in front of Tony's desk. She pointed at Tony, and he turned his head to look over his shoulder. They only heard a little of what Tony said, but it seemed to be something about his favourite Ralph Lauren jacket. He stood, obviously pissed, and frantically tried to shake the jacket off. Sensing it might be a good time to take their leave, Abby hit the button for the next floor. Tony directed his attention towards the elevator and pointed at the departing trio, the two adults were waving and smiling. Tony had just opened his mouth to say something, when the elevator doors slid shut.


	3. Abby Bakes

"Abby bakes?!"

"Yes, Tony, and what is so hard to believe about that?" McGee replied, looking away from his screen with mild irritation. This was the second time Tony had interrupted him in as many minutes.

"Nothing, nothing… I just never figured Mrs. Probie for that type of gal." Tony said, through a mouthful of one of Abby's chocolate chip creations.

"She will not like you calling her that, Tony." Ziva warned.

Ziva was sitting at her desk, tilted back in her chair, with her boot resting on one of the open drawers of her desk. She was waiting on some tiny local police department to return her call. Seemingly, the Sheriff had to wait for 'the kid who did the filing', to come back from lunch. Sometimes she was shocked at the inefficiency of local branches of law enforcement, but then she renounced her surprise as she watched Tony attempting to scrub away a smear of chocolate from his shirt.

"Can she make these with peanut butter?" Tony asked, pointing at one of the containers of cookies.

"I don't know, DiNozzo," McGee said, with a sigh, "I'll ask her."

McGee really didn't want to ask her, because he knew she would make them, and something told him that Tony didn't really deserve Abby's cookies. He looked on at the rainbow of plastic containers stacked on his desk. Recently Abby had become a one woman bakery. A girl that smelt like cookies was probably a huge draw for most men, or at least 8-year old boys, but McGee missed the gunpowder. In some ways, he couldn't wait for her to come back to work, because he truly missed her. He missed working side by side, he missed the competition between them, and most of all he missed her smiling satisfaction when the science clicked into place. Now she focused on churning out several new batches in various flavours and shapes, and every evening when he came home, he complimented her and ate a few. It seemed to please her, and he happily did anything that would make her smile.

At home their small kitchen had become overwhelmed with plastic food tubs, which were now stacked like a small wall next to the window. A few days ago McGee had come down to breakfast to find Abby staring at her confectionary barricade. She had announced that he was to take the majority of her handiwork to the office with him. So Abby had packed him off with the boxes, with strict orders to share them out with all the other agents. McGee couldn't shake the feeling of being a little kid on his first day of school. He was also offended that she thought he had the capacity to eat that many cookies; but he knew better than to object, Abby's hormones were still a little…hinky.

His desk had become very popular very quickly. Friends that McGee never knew he had stopped by to speak with him, and of course, pick up a cookie. He barely got a moment of peace to actually work. In the end, he had resorted to opening a box of each kind and lining them up in front of his desk; he grimly hoped Abby would appreciate this. Naturally Tony had found his setup hilarious and had persisted in calling him 'McGirlScout' all morning. Ziva had traitorously laughed along with Tony, and even Gibbs had smirked at the sight of McGee's desk-cum-snack station. Gibbs had been marginally more forgiving towards the younger agent since Alice was born, he remembered what it was like to be in McGee's shoes.

--

It had taken Abby all morning to make up the mixture for the first of today's batches. Alice had been so fussy, no sooner would Abby pick up a utensil than her daughter would begin crying. At this rate, Abby reckoned that she would only get one batch done today. Not that that was such a bad thing, she had already baked more than she knew what to do with. Now Abby dedicated the same energy and accuracy that she used to give to her job, to baking. Sure, it was a poor alternative that she would trade for her beloved forensic science in a heartbeat, but for now it kept her occupied. Getting up every morning and putting on a clean white apron was no substitute for her lab coat, but it was a small comfort in the interim.

The cookies had begun as something to fill her time, but now she regarded them as something of a saviour. She sincerely hoped she never had to explain this to anyone, as her reasoning sounded ridiculous, even to her. She felt that if she could just keep her hands busy and her brain occupied, then she wouldn't slide backwards. The last thing she wanted was to retreat into her own mind again. She didn't want to go back to feeling the way she did before; she felt she had gotten back on track. She had Alice, she had Tim and she suspected that she was happy. If cookies were the key to her happiness, then so be it.

It was on a complete whim that Abby had discovered baking cookies. She had decided to go shopping whilst Tim was at work. Tim had advised her to get out with the baby as much as possible; so that was exactly what she had done. The last thing Abby wanted to become was one of those housebound housewives with next to no independence. To begin with, Abby had tried visiting her usual haunts, but she had quickly discovered that tiny, dark, independent stores were not stroller friendly. However, Abby was not easily discouraged. Instead she decided to broaden her horizons a little. Firstly, she tried a traditional baby store, but she found it all so dull. Abby knew she could get all the baby hardware delivered directly to her door if she ordered it online, so she didn't bother looking at that stuff. Then she had tried looking at the clothing, but she quickly concluded that Alice wouldn't be seen dead in pastels, which were all babies ever wore, according to that store. Not to be defeated, Abby had tried a kitchen store. It was a very big-haired, apron-wearing matriarch kind of store, so she remained unimpressed. As she turned to leave, she noticed a tub by the cash register. _Was that what she thought it was?_ Moving a little closer to examine the contents of the tub; she squealed and the sales assistant's eyes widened. _A bat! It was meant to be!_ Divine intervention was bat-shaped.

Since that fateful shopping trip Abby had amassed an extensive collection of cookie cutters. Stars, hearts, bunny rabbits and even Christmas trees and angels in pre-emptive preparation for the festive period. Sometimes Tim returned home with a new shape for her collection, and she liked it when he did, because it meant that he thought about her when she wasn't there. It was those small gestures, worth less than five dollars, that made her feel loved. And so her little collection grew; though the bat remained her favourite, for it was the one that began it all.

* * *

_Note: Thanks again for all the reviews :) I'm not particularly pleased with this part, but I felt I just had to stop editing it and put it out there. Maybe I'll do a rewrite at some point... I'm pretty busy in real life at the moment, so I'll probably be quiet for a while. I've been trying to keep my profile page up to date with what I'm currently working on though. Thanks again for reading!_


	4. Auntie Ziva

_Another short chapter that I'm not very keen on, but better stuff is coming soon, I promise. This time we're going a few years into the future. However I will be going back to the past again soon, where Alice is a baby. Forget linear storytelling ;)_

_Thanks for all your reviews, taking the time to give me feedback means a lot! I'm sorry I haven't had the time to respond to many of them this time, but they are very much appreciated and helpful._

* * *

Finding a sitter was impossible. The last one they had picked, Laurie, had managed to let Alice overhear her phone conversations. It had taken a few weeks for Abby and McGee to stop their daughter dropping f-bombs. So of course, Laurie had to go. No replacement had been found yet. They were looking into a few possibilities, but so far Alice had run rings around the potential candidates. The inheritance of Abby's energy and the consumption of neon breakfast cereals sometimes proved to be a lethal combination. The media were right about Froot Loops.

However, both Abby and McGee had been needed at work today, so they had no choice but to bring Alice to the office with them. They didn't like to bring her too often, she was still only young and her concentration span was short. It was hard for everyone to focus when she was around. The little girl loved spending time with the team and was always full of questions for everyone. Uncle Tony told her jokes and showed her how to play tricks on Daddy. An extra element was added to Alice's fun when Daddy got mad at Uncle Tony and not her. Alice loved sitting on Gibbs' lap and telling him all about her latest adventures; because Gibbs listened intently and didn't tease her like Uncle Tony, or nod vaguely like Daddy sometimes did. Auntie Ziva was nice too, Alice supposed.

It wasn't even lunchtime and Alice was bored. She had already exhausted the candy supply that Uncle Tony kept in his drawer, explained to Gibbs all about how tadpoles grew into frogs, with accompanying pictures, and played a couple of games of tic-tac-toe with Auntie Ziva. She had now been sat next to her father for some time, trying to engage him in conversation, but today he couldn't be distracted.

"Can I go and see Mommy?"

"Not now." He replied, his eyes not moving from the computer screen.

The little girl scowled and wriggled down from her chair. Both of her parents had agreed that she shouldn't spend too much time in Abby's lab. McGee was worried that she would find her way to autopsy or accidentally witness some particularly gruesome evidence that Abby had to process. Abby worried about this too, but she was also concerned about the potential damage that small, sticky fingers could do to her other babies.

The phone on Ziva's desk began to ring. She picked it up swiftly, as she had been expecting the call. Ziva's witness was here and would soon be ready to be escorted from the elevator. Getting up from her chair quickly, leaving it spinning in her wake, she made her way to the elevator to greet the man. They had just begun walking together, when the witness spotted another man in a Marine uniform. The witness was unsettled, the presence of the Marine clearly had negative implications for him. He turned sharply and as he did, Ziva caught his arm. A struggle broke out, as the witness panicked and attempted to shove Ziva away.

McGee leapt up from his seat, grabbed his daughter's arm and pulled her back roughly, stepping between Alice and the scene that unfolded a few feet across the bullpen. However his reactions were not quite quick enough, so his daughter had managed to get a clear view of Ziva and the man's struggle. Alice had seen Ziva bare her teeth in anger at the man who had dared to think that he could gain a physical advantage on her. She had watched Ziva quickly dispatch the man to the floor, where she now pinned him down with her knee. It had seemed that with no more than an effortless twirl of her arms, Ziva had thrown him to the ground. Peering out from behind her father's legs, she stared as Ziva snapped a set of handcuffs on the man and hauled him to his feet. Alice watched wide-eyed as Ziva dragged the man out of sight.

So now Alice's current favourite was Ziva. In Alice's eyes she could do no wrong. Ziva had found her new fan puzzling; she felt she had not changed her behaviour, so she didn't quite understand the attention.

---

Alice was seated at the breakfast table, eating her cereal and swinging her legs happily. The topic of conversation had turned to Ziva, as it had every morning for the last week or so. In the past few days alone, Abby had found her daughter practising punching and kicking in front of her bedroom mirror, and then McGee had caught her attempting to wedge a butter knife down the side of her shoe.

"Mommy, can you braid my hair like Auntie Ziva's again?"

Abby nodded and sighed. Every single day for the last week Abby had heard the story of Ziva's dramatic arrest, courtesy of her daughter. She had also been forced to answer a multitude of questions concerning Ziva. Abby had already explained some of the fundamentals of Judaism and why Uncle Tony was mean to Auntie Ziva. At first Abby had found her daughter's hero-worship hilarious, but now she was beginning to feel inadequate. Okay, so she couldn't slay a bad guy with one arm tied behind her back; but science could be cool…right? Abby had tried to hide her upset when Alice now asked for a braid in her hair instead of pigtails.

"Mommy, do you ever arrested anyone?"

"Mommy, do you ever _arrest_ anyone?" McGee corrected, "Remember we already told you that Mommy doesn't do that kind of job, Ally."

Alice looked down into her cereal, clearly disappointed that she was receiving the same answer again. Reading her expression, McGee lowered his voice to a whisper and said;

"But I do know a story about a time that Mommy duct taped a bad guy to a chair."

Alice's eyes widened with excitement and she begged him to tell her more. After a little bartering, he had agreed to tell the story if she went and brushed her teeth. So Alice hopped down from her chair and rushed towards the stairs, with her father following fast at her heels, chasing her up the stairs. Abby was so thankful for his patience sometimes. He always had an answer for his daughter and he so rarely got angry with her. No wonder she was a 'Daddy's Girl'...

McGee narrated the story about Chip as Alice brushed her teeth. He left out a few details; Chip's attack on Abby, the mutilated legs, DiNozzo's spell in prison. The PG version of the story was less dramatic, but there was no way he was telling his daughter the whole gruesome tale. Besides, Alice seemed suitably awestruck by the edited version. Alice was now sat down on the bed, waiting for her father to help lace up her shoes, as he usually did. He knelt down in front of her and tied the laces. She could nearly do this by herself now, soon enough she would not need his help at all. He was both proud and sad; it was difficult to let go. He had no idea how he was going to cope when she started dating or went to college.

"Okay Princess, we're ready to go." He said, patting her shoe to indicate the he was finished

"Daddy, don't call me that! Auntie Ziva wouldn't like it if you called her Princess."

"Nor would Mommy…" He chuckled under his breath, as he watched his daughter scamper away.


	5. Home and Away

_Back to when Alice is a baby :)_

_Once again, I'm sorry I haven't replied to any reviews, so I'm just going to say one big thank you here :) I've been in and out of hospital this month, complete PITA, trust me. Hopefully I'll be able to respond if anyone has a chance to review this chapter. The chapter after this is going to be a bit more...me, I think. _

* * *

Gibbs unloaded his backpack onto the single bed and Ziva quickly made her way over to the futon that the hotel staff had hastily made up, claiming it for herself. DiNozzo and McGee looked at the king-sized bed, the only other in the room, and then at each other before they both began rapidly protesting. Tony tried to get his boss to switch with him, under the guise of a bad back; and McGee complained that the last time this had happened Tony had kicked him clean out of bed in the middle of the night. Both the men were in mid-flow when Gibbs snapped round to face them, giving them one of his disproving stares. Knowing they were defeated, they both trailed off and resigned themselves to their fate.

Tony grumbled as he unpacked his things and hung his clean shirt in the wardrobe. It was bad enough that they were all forced to share a room in the first place, but having to share a bed with McGee really took the cake. It was a small town that had been temporarily filled up for some sort of annual festival, meaning that this was the only place they could find a room. Tony swore that if McGee tried to 'snuggle', he was getting kicked out of bed, again.

McGee twisted his wedding ring. Even though he usually forgot that he had it on, he liked wearing it. When he looked at it, it reminded him of her. Of _them_. Abby had a ring, but she didn't wear it often. Sometimes she wore it on a chain around her neck, sometimes on her finger and sometimes not at all. He always wondered if the way she wore it had any significance. But he was content enough that she had let him buy her one at all.

In the meantime, Tony had turned to Ziva and was trying to get her to change places with McGee, obviously kicking himself for not seeing this opportunity earlier. He had a huge, pleading grin on his face, but Ziva was remaining firm.

"Tony, I am not exchanging with McGee. But, I hope you two will be very happy together." She said, in mock congratulation, as she pushed her way past him and entered the bathroom to change her clothes.

"Thank you, Zee-vah!" Tony hissed in reply.

McGee felt the vibration in his pocket as his cell began to ring. Pulling it out of his pocket, he noted the caller ID. It was Abby. It was 2am, and he was pretty sure the people sleeping in the other rooms wouldn't appreciate him conducting a conversation in the hallway at this time of night. So instead he held up his phone to the others and said;

"I'm uhh… going to take this. It's Abby."

Gibbs and Tony motioned for him to go ahead. Tony couldn't help but notice the smile that spread across the younger agent's face as he greeted Abby and made small talk. It was cute and, although he would never admit it, he was jealous.

"_How are you? ... How's Alice?"_

"_Uh-huh, and what did you two do today?" _

"_Sounds good, I guess we can try to go again at the weekend, if you think she'd like it?"_

"_Hey, Princess. Are you being a good girl?"_

Tony inwardly chuckled at McGee's one-sided conversation with his daughter. Occasionally he heard a voice cut in, Abby was probably explaining what the little girl was doing. He had always figured it would happen to him some day, but right now family was something Tony didn't have. He had assumed he would find the right girl, settle down and… do whatever it was married people did, eventually. Though he wondered if he had missed his opportunity; he had been with so many women and one thing he has learnt was that women didn't wait around forever. They usually got bored of waiting for him to make a commitment or they didn't understand how important his job was. He shook his head and refocused on listening to McGee's phone conversation as Ziva emerged from the bathroom in an oversized shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Maybe one day…

Gibbs privately indulged in a smile, his own memories of Kelly resurfacing. Nothing was more special than when your daughter gave you that wide-eyed look of amazement. McGee doted on his daughter, and Abby too. This was a comforting thought for Gibbs, as he knew someone would be looking out for them long after his time was up. He almost wished he hadn't taken McGee on the trip at all, he belonged at home with Abby and the baby, not here. Milestones would be missed, lessons would go untaught; this Gibbs knew this from experience. He had lost so much time with Kelly when he was stationed in foreign territories. If only he had known how little time he had…

McGee glanced behind him, obviously checking to see if anyone was paying close attention to his call. Gibbs was amused by the younger agent's naivety; surely he knew that DiNozzo never missed an opportunity to pry into his private life.

"_Goodnight Ally. Love you."_

"_I'll call tomorrow… Love you too, Abs."_

McGee hit the button to end the call and just stared at his phone for a few seconds, this was the first time they had been apart since Alice had been born. He missed them more than he thought was possible.

---

Abby lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She had just gotten off the phone with Tim and now she was failing to get to sleep. Abby still kept strange hours, especially with her daughter waking to be fed throughout the night. She roughly tossed from side to side, trying to find a comfortable way to position herself. By now she had even turned over the pillow so many times that there was no longer a cool side, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get back to sleep.

Slowly getting up from bed, she walked across the room to the window. She stared out at the night sky. A rich, inky blue punctuated with stars. Abby had always liked the night, it was still, calm and quiet. A perfect opposition to the usual noise and speed of her days. Not that they were like that anymore, now her days were filled with diaper changing and never-ending piles of laundry, hardly stimulating tasks. She cast an eye over the room, cringing at the thought of tidying it tomorrow. Somehow a multitude of items always found their way into the couple's bedroom. Everything from Alice's bottles to Abby's CDs. Not to mention his books, Abby swore if she had to stub her toe on one more book…

Abby's eyes came to rest on the laundry hamper. An idea was formulating inside her head, perhaps she could find a way to sleep after all. She walked over to the dresser and picked up the shirt that was lying on the top of it. Grey, with NCIS printed on the right breast. He had only worn it for a few hours before discarding it there in favour of one of his dress shirts. He had been called to work unexpectedly, halfway through them reorganising the closet together. Well, she supervised and instructed, and he did all the physical stuff. Smiling, she walked across the room and climbed back into bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin and curling up into a ball. His shirt was firmly clutched to her chest as she drifted off to sleep.


	6. Mortality

**Note: So, I think I promised this chapter would be done soon the last time I posted... Yeah, that didn't happen. I ended up rewriting a chunk and then the holidays completely swallowed up all my time and I had sporadic internet access elsewhere. A bit of a longer chapter this time, with Alice a little older and generally more sadness/angst. The next chapter is more cheerful though, and Tony is guest starring!**

* * *

"_Hey Gibbs! I was just thinking about you, spooky huh? Do you want the-"_

"_There's been an accident Abs, you've gotta get to Bethesda."_

"_Is – is he okay?"_

"_He's good. Just get here, Abs"_

---

Whilst she was driving she gripped the wheel until her knuckles turned white; it stopped her hands from shaking.

"Where are we going?" Alice asked shakily, from the back seat.

"I already told you, we have to go to the hospital." Abby said sharply.

"But why?" The little girl replied.

"Ally, please just be quiet, I… I need to concentrate right now."

In truth, Abby was so close to breaking down, she could hardly stand to look at her daughter. She had inherited far too many characteristics from her father. Every glance in her mirror reminded her of what she might lose today.

---

Christina had been working this desk at the hospital for 12 years now. There was rarely a sight that surprised her; she had seen everything from birth to death played out in these hallways. There was a certain pattern to life in the hospital, a routine that permeated each day. So now Christina sat at her station waiting for the next enquiry to come by phone or by foot. The afternoon had been uneventful, as very few patients had been admitted. She presumed that Tuesday afternoon was not a popular time to be unwell or become injured. As she placed the last stack of paper in the top drawer, she frowned, she had already completed her filing and reorganised the drawers. The only case of note for today, was probably that of the NCIS agent who had been brought in with a bullet wound. He had already been stabilised and fixed up downstairs, now he was currently recovering from the anaesthesia in his room. She hadn't been on shift when he had arrived, but she had been instructed to check on him regularly and to watch out for his visitors.

The young man's companions were an odd group. None of them had really spoke much. They just asked her about his condition and if they could see him. She presumed they were his colleagues, from the way they dressed and the manner in which they spoke about him. This suspicion was confirmed when Special Agent Gibbs identified himself and gave her 'orders'. _Definitely ex-Military._

When she had entered the injured man's room, she had flicked through his notes; all pretty standard for the type and severity of injury. Christina looked at the man lying in the bed, his face was pale and waxy. Her eyes flashed back to his chart again, _Timothy McGee_. He looked like a sweet boy, this Timothy, baby-faced and with a distinctive pout. _Clearly he was loved by someone_, she noted, directing her gaze to the wedding band on his finger. She imagined the wife would arrive soon, and she wondered what she would be like. It wasn't the woman with the dark curls in the hallway, she was far too calm and collected to be the wife. In situations like this wives were inconsolable not silent.

--

At the other end of the hallway a woman rushed from the elevator, she snapped her head from one direction to the other, obviously looking for something specific. Her eyes fixed on Christina, and she hastened towards the nurse. As open-minded as Christina thought she was, she still considered this woman odd. She was a little too old to be wearing her dark hair in pigtails and her clothing was strange, but Christina buried her feelings, someone else's appearance wasn't really any of her business. There was a small child clinging to the woman's neck, her feet tightly gripping the woman's waist. The little girl was burying her head in the woman's chest, evidently distressed by the situation.

"Abby Scuito… Special Agent Timothy McGee… NCIS…this is his daughter."

The effort of hurrying around with the child clamped to her side had robbed the woman of her breath and her speech was staggered and clumsy.

"Are you here to see him, sweetie?" Christina asked, taking pity on the beleaguered Abby.

"Yes! I couldn't park my car, I think I'm gonna get a ticket, but it's- " Abby began.

Christina had realised that this was evidently the Abby that Special Agent Gibbs had told her to look out for.

"Just go through those doors, there's a waiting area and some of his other friends are already there. He's in 401." Christina said, with a gentle smile.

The woman had looked close to tears. Christina supposed that this was the sitter. It couldn't be the wife; they had different last names and she wore no ring. Christina mentally reeled through the list of names Special Agent Gibbs had barked at her, Sarah McGee - that must be the wife. Although it was only another half hour before Christina was proven wrong. A young girl had made her way up to Christina's station and identified herself as Sarah McGee, quickly punctuating herself with the confirmation that she was Timothy's sister. _Where was this wife of Timothy McGee's?_ Christina wondered.

Wheeling her chair to the side slightly, Christina managed to get a view of the waiting area through the glass panels in the double door. Sarah continued down the hallway and embraced Abby in long hug. When they finally drew apart, they engaged in conversation, both of their faces painted with worry. The child was now clinging to Special Agent Gibbs, her face now buried in his coat. Although she couldn't hear him, Christina could tell that he was using his commanding voice to flag down a passing doctor. Then surely enough, Doctor Matthews appeared in view, his body language defensive and his expression harassed. Gibbs lent in close to the doctor and whispered something in his ear. Doctor Matthews looked momentarily shocked, his demeanour changed and he said something whilst motioning towards the door of room 401, before hastily withdrawing back up the corridor. Abby hugged Gibbs and the little girl briefly, then took Sarah by the arm and led her into room 401. Christina began to wonder if Abby could actually _be_ the wife. She thought perhaps she should not have judged these particular books by their cover. Of course she could always be the mistress… Christina decided she should keep an eye on this Timothy McGee.

---

"Uncle Gibbs?"

He turned and looked at the girl sitting in the plastic chair next to his. He sincerely hoped she wasn't going to ask an awkward question.

"Can I go see my dad?"

_That was kids for ya._

"Not right now," He said softly, "your Mom and Aunt have to go in first."

"Why?"

"He's real tired Ally."

"But when he comes home from work he says he's really, really, really tired, and we still do stuff… like watch movies, we do that a lot. But he always falls asleep, and then Mommy says I have to wake him up." The little girl said, looking up at Gibbs matter-of-factly, as if all McGee would require to awaken him was a quick poke in the ribs.

Gibbs smirked briefly, he had once known that tiredness all too well. He had often fallen asleep with Kelly curled up beside him on the couch.

"_You're missing it, Daddy!"_

Gibbs snapped back to the present, the small smile wiping itself from his face. He felt slightly sorry for McGee; Abby could outrun him at the best of times and Alice showed all the signs of having the same bounce as her mother. No wonder he was tired.

"D'you think there's a TV in there?" Alice asked, kicking her heels against the legs of the chair, and pointing towards her father's room.

"I don't know, sweetheart." Gibbs replied, "Hey, DiNozzo, why don't you take Ally down to the vending machine to get some candy."

Gibbs sighed deeply, as Tony got up and ushered the suddenly excited girl away. One of his agents had just received a nearly identical gunshot wound to the one he had suffered at Ari's hand. He wasn't really in the mood to make conversation with Alice. He loved her so much and had seemingly infinite patience for her, but right now he wanted to retreat into his own head. The thought of losing another agent had shaken him up, although he would never let it show. On the ride to the hospital, despite Gibbs' insistence that the wound was not too serious, McGee had made him promise to look after Abby and Alice if anything went wrong. He had simply told McGee to do his own 'damn, dirty work'.

---

Sarah and Abby had been in the room for nearly an hour, waiting for him to wake up. At first they had made empty small talk; Abby fielded questions about her daughter, whilst Sarah tackled ones about her latest boyfriend. They barely paid attention to the questions they asked or the answers they received, all they wanted was a distraction. Neither of them wanted to face the grim reality of the man laying in the bed. After a while they had run out of things to say and had grown silent. Sarah chewed an errant fingernail, whilst Abby slowly drummed her fingers on the bed frame. Both of the women waited nervously, scanning his face for a sign he might be waking up. The doctors had promised he would be awakening from his anaesthesia soon, but so far his eyelids had flickered only a few times.

"Can he hear us?" Sarah asked weakly.

"Probably, you know Tim…" Abby replied, with a wry smile.

Abby had barely finished her sentence when he slowly blinked. Sarah and Abby leaned in closer to his bed, addressing him excitedly. He responded to their greetings with a soft 'hey'. On hearing his voice, tears began to roll down Sarah's cheeks. She roughly wiped them away with the back of her hand and rushed to the door, opening it and telling everyone outside he was awake. Abby heard Tony volunteer to help Sarah go and find a doctor, and Alice asking if she could see her Daddy yet.

"I was worried I wouldn't get to tell you again." Abby began, shakily.

"Tell me what?" He said, with his mind so cloudy, he had no idea what she meant.

"You know…"

Abby was struggling to hold back her tears. She hadn't even had the chance to cry yet. All she could think about was how much time they had wasted with their on-off relationship. Why hadn't she just agreed to marry him the first time he had asked? Or even the second or third. She couldn't believe it had come so close to all being over. All it would have taken was for him to have been standing a little more to the left, or a more accurate gunman. Then the life they had carved out for themselves, it would have all been gone. She didn't know how to express it, and if he did he was in no condition to, but this moment was more emotional than their wedding day. She was more fiercely in love with him than she had ever been before, and from the look in his eyes, she could tell he felt exactly the same. He wriggled his fingers, motioning for her to take his hand.

"Wait…" she said, her voice choked with emotion.

Abby suddenly pulled hard at the chain around her neck; it gave way, destroying the clasp in the process. A little dramatic perhaps, but Abby knew she would not need it again. She slipped her ring from the necklace, leaving the chain to slither into a heap on the nightstand, then she carefully slid the ring onto her finger before putting her hand into his. From that day on Abby always wore her ring.

---

By the time the doctor had assessed McGee's condition and spoken at length with Sarah and Abby, it had gotten late. Christina had to come and inform the group that visiting hours were well and truly over. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva all agreed to leave, on the condition that Abby, Sarah and Alice were allowed to stay a little longer. Christina had tried to be firm with the group, but her resistance crumbled when Alice's lower lip had started to tremble; she couldn't help it, she had a big heart when it came to little kids.

---

Alice sat down on the floor and began tugging at her shoelaces. Her little, black patent boots were giving her some trouble, so far she had only managed to get one off.

"Ally, what are you doing?" Sarah questioned.

"It's bedtime. Going to bed." Alice replied, as her second boot gave way and tumbled underneath the bed.

"Ally, Daddy's gonna have to stay in the hospital tonight, he has to sleep and take his medicine." Sarah said, walking over to her niece and crouching down to her level.

"But…but he said we could… he said…" Alice said, her brows knitting just as her father's did, "I wanna stay here with my dad."

Alice picked herself up from the floor and tried desperately to pull herself up onto her father's bed. She was halted in her progress by Sarah, who had scooped her up, warned her about being gentle with her father and placed her on the end of his bed. The little girl gingerly lay down at the end of his bed, heeding Sarah's warning.

"Hey, Ally, your mom said I could sleep over at your house tonight. I promise we'll get up really early tomorrow and come visit. Sound good?" Sarah asked.

Alice simply pouted and did not answer. At this point McGee spoke softly, the medication slurring his speech somewhat. He told Alice that he needed her to go home and pack him some clothes. The little girl nodded, accepting her task and solemnly promising that she would even make him a PB&J. The gravity that Alice mustered made her father smile, and Abby only just succeeded in keeping her laughter in check. Looking at him lying in the bed Abby could tell he was exhausted and trying to stay awake for their benefit, so she began to gather up her things. Taking her cue from Abby, Sarah tidied the nightstand by her brother's bed and pulled a book out of her bag.

"I'm not done reading it yet, but I figured you might need it more than me. Hospitals can get really boring." She said, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it.

"This better not be more chick lit…." He replied.

Sarah laughed and leant in and kissed his cheek.

"You'll just have to wait and see… Love you, Tim." She said quietly, before moving away and picking Alice's boots up from the ground.

Abby was almost ready to leave, she had picked Alice up from the end of the bed and now they only had their goodbyes left to do. Alice was careful with her goodbye kiss for her father, remembering Sarah's warning again.

"I love you two," he said, as Abby placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, "but don't touch my computer…both of you."

They both looked at him with open mouths, each of them looking equally affronted by his suggestion that their expertise might not be up to scratch. He could not help but smile; they had near identical looks on their faces. He could tell that Alice would grow to look more like Abby as she was older, and he just hoped he would be around to see it.

--

"Are you sure you want to do this? It's going to be so gross." He said.

"You remember who you're talking to, right? And I've watched it being done a million times, _and_ Ducky is a great teacher, _and_ I'm an even better student." She responded.

Turning to the table she picked up a set of gloves and snapped one of them on. With her gloveless hand, she tilted his chin upwards and looked directly into his eyes.

"Don't you trust me, Timmy?" She said, smiling devilishly.

He couldn't resist that smile, the one that left him scrambling for words and had gotten him in trouble with Gibbs more times than he could count. So he unbuttoned his shirt, managing to pull it off with only a little trouble. Abby fought to give him some space, she wanted to help him as she hated seeing him struggle, but the couple had already had a long conversation about this issue. He wanted to keep his independence and though he would accept help when he really needed it, he preferred to try and rely on other people as little as possible. McGee had quickly tired with everyone trying to 'help' him since his injury. Much to his chagrin, the same puppy dog eyes that had won over the hospital nurses had also attracted the motherly side of all the women in his life, overwhelming him with makeshift nursemaids.

"Abs, I've been thinking…" he began, as Abby began to change the dressing on his wound, "I might not even be declared fit for the field for months, maybe it would be better if I didn't come back at all."

Abby didn't reply, she remained concentrated on the task at hand, with her lips pursed. McGee found it impossible to read her expression. He had been dreading this conversation, but he thought, _Maybe the silent treatment was better than-_

"Mommy, Daddy!"

Alice raced into the room, coming to a skidding stop as her socks slid across the glossy floorboards.

"I can put this on?" Alice half-asked, half-told her parents with a copy of _Beauty and the Beast_ in her outstretched hand.

"Okay, Princess," he said. Then he remembered that the last time she had put on her own movie, she been a little overzealous with the remote. One new remote later, he remembered to add; "But be careful."

Soon the dulcet tones of Belle drifted in from the next room. McGee was relieved, he was in no mood to attempt to fix something right now. Soon enough Abby finished changing the dressing and then she finally broke her silence, suddenly asking;

"So, what _are_ you going to do?"

This was a question that had been plaguing him for a while now. He had thought about writing full time, but he felt that making it his job would take all the fun out of it. Writing was about relaxation, not paying the bills. Although, Mr. Gemcity had already started a substantial college fund for Alice... In any case, writing was not an option. He had considered taking up one of his former professor's offers. Whether it still stood after all these years would be the question. He also knew that he couldn't bear rotting away in Cyber Crimes for the rest of his career, anything would be better than that. Now Abby was looking at him for an answer. He couldn't meet her gaze.

"Why, Tim? I thought you loved your job." She asked, her voice full of hurt.

"I…I have a family, it's irresponsible. I should be sitting at a desk 24/7, not getting shot at by some-"

"No, I'm not letting you do this out of some misguided sense of…of duty. I can't believe you can just sit there and tell me you want out. Do you think I don't remember how hard you worked to get where you are now? All those long trips to DC from Norfolk. You worked so, so hard Tim. You need to think about what-"

Abby stopped herself in mid-flow. Here she was lecturing the poor man who, just weeks ago, could have been erased from her life altogether. Sometimes she wished he did a less dangerous job, but she thought little of it. Just as he never wanted her to change, she didn't want him to either.

"I know you want to try and protect us, Tim. But you have to be yourself. I know you, and I know that you wouldn't be happy doing anything else," she said, and then added with a soft smile, "it's one of the only things we have in common."

"It's your decision, but I think you should focus on healing and getting back in the field." She said, placing a comforting hand on his cheek.

Alice poked her head around the doorframe; a large frown upon her face.

"The Beast?" Her father questioned.

Alice nodded sadly. She had yet to get through the entire movie on her own. At one stage or another she always begged the company of her mother or father, or whichever other adult was present.

"I'm coming." He said, slowly getting up from the chair and struggling back into his shirt.

"Think about it." Abby whispered, as he walked away.

---

Years later, Abby would still run her fingers over the small scar made by the entry of the stray bullet. She knew the scar by memory, the slight puckering, the raised smooth centre. It both fascinated and repulsed her. It reminded her of their mortality. One day, one of them would die, and the other would be left behind, lost with grief. But not today.


End file.
